The Big Walker Mountain Tunnel is a vehicular tunnel

Tunnel

A tunnel is an underground passageway, completely enclosed except for openings for egress, commonly at each end.A tunnel may be for foot or vehicular road traffic, for rail traffic, or for a canal. Some tunnels are aqueducts to supply water for consumption or for hydroelectric stations or are sewers...

 in the Appalachian Mountains

Appalachian Mountains

The Appalachian Mountains #Whether the stressed vowel is or ,#Whether the "ch" is pronounced as a fricative or an affricate , and#Whether the final vowel is the monophthong or the diphthong .), often called the Appalachians, are a system of mountains in eastern North America. The Appalachians...

 of Southwest Virginia

Southwest Virginia

Southwest Virginia, often abbreviated as SWVA, is a mountainous region of Virginia in the westernmost part of the commonwealth. Southwest Virginia has been defined alternatively as all Virginia counties on the Appalachian Plateau, all Virginia counties west of the Eastern Continental Divide, or...

 that carries Interstate 77

Interstate 77

Interstate 77 is an Interstate Highway in the eastern United States. It traverses diverse terrain, from the mountainous state of West Virginia to the rolling farmlands of North Carolina and Ohio. It largely supplants the old U.S...

 through/under Big Walker Mountain. It is located at 37°2.316′N 81°7.818′W, a few miles south of the town of Bland

Bland, Virginia

Bland is a census-designated place in and the county seat of Bland County, Virginia, United States. Bland was originally known as Bland Court House. The population as of the 2010 Census was 409....

 and a segment of the Appalachian Trail

Appalachian Trail

The Appalachian National Scenic Trail, generally known as the Appalachian Trail or simply the AT, is a marked hiking trail in the eastern United States extending between Springer Mountain in Georgia and Mount Katahdin in Maine. It is approximately long...

, and about 20 miles (32 km) south of its longer cousin, the East River Mountain Tunnel

East River Mountain Tunnel

The East River Mountain Tunnel is a vehicular tunnel that carries Interstate 77 and U.S. Route 52 through East River Mountain between the communities of Bluefield, West Virginia, and Rocky Gap, Virginia.-History:...

.

The 4,229-foot (1,288 m) tunnel was first opened in 1972 after five years of construction labor. It carried a price tag of $50 million, which at the time was the most expensive single project undertaken on Virginia

Virginia

The Commonwealth of Virginia , is a U.S. state on the Atlantic Coast of the Southern United States. Virginia is nicknamed the "Old Dominion" and sometimes the "Mother of Presidents" after the eight U.S. presidents born there...

's interstate system.http://www.fhwa.dot.gov/infrastructure/back0705.cfm The opening of the tunnel reduced the travel time from Wytheville

Wytheville, Virginia

Wytheville is a town in Wythe County, Virginia, United States. The population was 8,211 at the 2010 census. It is the county seat of Wythe County. The town is home to a Chautauqua Festival, held the third weekend in June every year since 1985...

 to Bland County

Bland County, Virginia

As of the census of 2000, there were 6,871 people, 2,568 households, and 1,908 families residing in the county. The population density was 19 people per square mile . There were 3,161 housing units at an average density of 9 per square mile...

 by 30 minutes.http://www.vdot.virginia.gov/info/Interstate50th/history.asp

Preliminary engineering studies for the project were made by Brokenborough & Watkins, consulting engineers of Richmond, Virginia, and the final design of the roadway and tunnel was by Singstad

Ole Singstad

Ole Knutsen Singstad was a Norwegian-American civil engineer who innovated the ventilation system for the Holland Tunnel and advanced the use of the "Sunk-tube" method of underwater vehicular tunnel building, a system of constructing the tunnels with prefabricated sections.By 1950...

& Kehart, consulting engineers of New York City.